Driving mat for golf



May 4, 1954 T. D. CAMPBELL DRIVING MAT FOR GOLF 2 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1955 INVENTOR Talmgge D. Campbell ATTORNEY May 4, 1954 1'. D; CAMPBELL 2,677,546

DRIVING MAT FOR GOLF Filed March 4, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR" III! Illlllllllllllllllllllllll. .7217 Q9 8 Campb Patented May 4, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRIVING MAT FOR GOLF Talmage D. Campbell, Ocala, Fla.

Application March 4, 1953, Serial No. 340,347

12 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a game apparatus and more particularly to a golf game which is adapted to be played in a back yard or similar confined space in which there is not room enough for long drives, the present application constituting a continuation in part of my copending application filed February 5, 1952, and bearing Serial No. 269,990.

The game apparatus consists briefly of a driving mat, a target set upon the ground a suitable distance from the driving mat, and balls which are to be driven with a golf club from the driving mat towards the target in an endeavor to have the balls land upon the ground and come to a stop as close to the target as possible.

It is one object of the invention to provide a driving mat which is placed fiat upon the ground and has associated therewith an improved tee which projects upwardly above the mat and is pliable so that it will not be damaged if struck by the head of a club when driving a ball towards the target, flexibility of the tee also permitting a set of mats, targets, and balls to be thrust into a relatively thin box or equivalent container for storage without damaging the tees when the mats are disposed in close face to face relation to each other.

Another object of the invention is to provide a driving mat wherein the ball-supporting tee is mounted in an opening formed through the board, a portion of the board being of reduced thickness whereby the head of a golf club may strike the ball and drive it from the tee, without contacting the surface of the board and causing excessive wear upon the board or the head of the club and also without the head of the club being deflected and failing to hit the ball properly.

Another object of the invention is to provide the board with a longitudinally extending strip which has a portion bent into the opening and carrying the tee, the strip also serving as a guide which may be looked at while using the club and the club thus caused to properly strike the ball while driving the ball from the tee.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive driving mat which will function efficiently and from which golf balls may be driven from one spot, time after time, without digging divots or damaging the turf in any way.

On some surfaces, such as soft sand, it is practically impossible to get any satisfaction out of hitting golf balls as a good clean shot at the ball is prevented by the nature of the ground upon which the ball rests and it is therefore another object of the invention to provide a mat which may be merely dropped upon the ground anywhere with no other preparation, and be immediately ready for play.

Another object of the invention is to provide a driving mat including a board which may be formed of laminated wood and thus strengthened and prevented from warping.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple outdoor game which can be played without score cards, or the like, and-without calculating involving figures greater than 1 or 2 and a total no greater than 9, the scoring being similar to that in a game of quoits or horseshoe pitching.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view illustrating the layout of the driving mat and the companion target.

Figure 2 is a side view of the driving mat and the target shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view upon an enlarged scale of the driving mat.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken longitudinally through the target upon the line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view showinga portion of the driving mat upon an enlarged scale.

Figure 0 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 1-4 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the ball-holding tee and the strip upon which it is mounted.

Figure 9 is a top plan view showing the target resting flat upon the ground.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line Ill-l0 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing a modified construction.

The game apparatus constituting the subject matter of this invention consists of a driving mat i, a target 2, and six balls 3 which are individually placed upon the tee 4 of the driving mat and struck with a golf club so that they are driven towards the target as indicated by the dot and dash line 5 in Figure 2. The driving mat and the companion tee may be spaced from each other any distance desired which may be a short distance in a yard or if the game is played in an open field, the distance may be greatly increased, even to the usual distance between a tee and a green on a golf course. In Figure 1 there has been shown a single driving mat and companion target for use by a person who wishes to practice driving or two persons may drive in competition with each other, one using white balls and the other yellow balls. The balls mentioned may be other contrasting colors which will allow the opposing players to readily determine which balls were struck by the two players after they have been driven towards the target and come to a stop after striking the ground and rolling towards the target. While only one driving mat and companion target have been shown in Figure 1 it will be understood that additional mats and targets may be provided and that a set usually consists of two mats and targets which are so arranged upon the ground that the target of one player is disposed in spaced relation from one side of the driving mat of the other player. The' players may thus drive the balls from the tees towards each other and if so desired, four players may play as partners and drive the balls back and forth across the yard or field towards each other.

A driving mat and companion target will now be described in detail.

The mat consists of a board 6 which is preferably formed of laminated ply wood or other suitabl material which is strong and not liable to warp or crack. This board is thin, preferably not more than one half an inch in thickness, and about three feet long and eight inches wide. For

'a-portion of its length the board is reduced in thickness from its front end to provide a reduced portionor platform-1 extending the full width of the board and bordered across its rear end by a shoulder .8 which extends downwardly at a forward incline towards the platform. A large opening 9 is formed through the board for the entire thickness thereof midway the width of the board and is formed partially throughthe platform and partially through the front end of the thick portion of the board. The opening is preferably of the shape shown in Figures 3 and and has frontand rearends Ill and II of reduced width but the opening may be circular or other shapes if so desired.

A strip [2 which is formed of stiff sheet metal and about one half an inch wide extends longitudinally of the board and is secured flat upon the upper surface of the board by tacks or equivalent fasteners 13 passed through openings in the strip and driven into the board. This strip is located midway the width of the board and extends the major portion of the length thereof and has tapered ends 12. Due to the length of the strip and its pointed ends a player standing near a side of the mat and looking at the strip may use th strip for sighting while striking a ball with a golf club andthus more accurately drive the-ball towards the target. Intermediate its length themetal strip is bent to form a downwardly offset portion or saddle I4 which is supported byfront and rear arms l5 and [6 formed integral with the strip. Tongues l1 and I8 which are cut from the arms l5 and 16 extend longitudinally from opposite ends of the saddleand fitinto notches l9 and 20 formed in the under face of theboard where they fit tightly and brace the saddle against upward movement. A tee is carried by the saddle and consists of two pieces of flexible plastic 2| which are disposed vertically and have horizontally extending base portions 22 secured upon the bridge M by rivets 23. The supports 2| increase in width towards their-upper ends and at their upper ends are wider than the saddle.

Referring to Figure 7 itrwill be seen that each support has its upper end formed with a somewhatfiattened V-shaped recess 24 so that when a ball 3 is at rest upon the tee formed by the two supports, portions .of the ballmay engage in the recesses. The supports are spaced from each other longitudinally ofthesaddle, as-shown in Figure 6, and when a ball is set at rest upon the upper ends of the supports it will be prevented from accidentally rolling off of the tee formed by the supports. Since the supports 2| are formedof flexible plastic they may yield forwardly when struckby the head of a golf club used for driving a golf ball from the tee and return to an upright position after the ball has been driven from the tee. Therefore the supports will not be'bentoutof shape while playing the game and also when the game apparatus is not in use the driving mats may be placed in face to face relation to each other and stored in a shallowbox without the supports being damaged by being tilted longitudinally of the boards towardsa lowered position. One of the supports is located close to the sloping shoulder 8 and the other support is spaced forwardly therefrom a short distance. This allows the ball to be struck in a natural manner and the head of the golf club allowed to drop lower and only graze the thin portion of the board as it follows down through with the ball instead of having 'hard striking contact with the mat. Having the hole in the board or mat elongated longitudinally thereof provides more room for the supports forming the tee. A small opening [2 is formed through the strip [2 in front of the saddle and the portion under the opening is painted red in order that the opening will clearly show. This opening isaligned with the pointed front end of the strip and allows a player standing at'a side of the mat to more readily aim when driving a ball towards :the target. s

The target: towards which the balls are driven is formedfrom a plurality of strips 25, eight being shown. They arethin strips which maybe formed of plastic or other suitable material and are white ii the target is to be placed'upon grass, or red'if the target is ;.placed upon snow or sand and thus allow the target tobe clearly seen. The strips are of appreciably greater length than Width and each has diagonally cut ends so that when the strips are placed flat upon the ground with their ends near each other they form substantially a circle, as shown in Figure 9.

Adjoining ends of the Celluloidstrips are connected with each other by tapes or hinge strips 23 which are formed of fabric in order that the strips 25 may be folded across the hinge strips and disposed-in face to face engagement with each other. Two strips or tapes form each hinge and have portions between the .strips 25 adhering to eachother. and their end portions overlapping and adhering securely flat upon end portions of the said strips 25. By so forming the hinges the-strips 25 will be connected in somewhat spaced relation to each other and may be readily moved from a collapsed position in which they are stacked flat upon each other to an extended position. When the strips are in an extended target-formingposition they may first form a half circle and then be folded to a position in which they are disposed upright and form a target having the shape of a tripod or they may be fully extended to form a circle. The target which has the form of a tripod is especially useful when placed a long distance from the driving mat, as it can be clearly seen, but it may be used when the game is played in a yard and the target placed a short distance from the driving mat. A circular target is used when placed a shortdistance from the driving mat.

In Figure 11 there has been shown a modified form of driving mat. Theboard 21 of this mat is also formed of laminated wood and is reduced in thicknessfrom-its front end to form a platform .28-corresponding to the platform I. An opening 29 corresponding to'opening 9 is formed through the board and so located that it is partially; through the platform and partially through :the thick zportion of-the board. The opening is quite large and within it is a cupshaped tee formed of flexible material which is preferably rubber but may be a suitable substitute. The cup-shaped tee is of such height that it projects upwardly out of the opening and above the thick portion of the board. It is circular intop plan and tapers towards its lower end and the bottom of the tee is of sufficient thickness to impart stability to the tee. The annular wall is gradually reduced in thickness towards its upper end so that it maybe readily deiiected forwardly when struck by a golf club. This also allows the upper portion of the tee to be turned outwardly and downwardly back upon itself to a folded position and the tee thus disposed below the plane of the upper surface of the thick portion of the board when the mat is not in use. In addition the size of the opening relative to the diameter of the tee is such that when a ball and the tee are struck by a golf club while driving the ball off of the tee, the tee may be flexed forwardly and downwardly into the opening instead of being caught between the club head and the front edge of the opening and torn or cut to bits. Damage to the tee will thus be avoided. The bottom of the cup-shaped tee is formed with an opening through which a fastener 3! is passed. This fastener also passes through a metal strip 32 and as the fastener has a large flat head 33 at its upper end the tee is not liable to be torn loose from the fastener. The strip 32 is of less width than the diameter of the hole 29 and extends longitudinally of the board, its rear portion being secured in a recess 34 in the under surface of the board by tacks 35 and its front end being free and spaced from the front edge portion of the opening. The resilient strip may therefore absorb shocks received when the tee is struck and deflected forwardly by a golf club.

When the game apparatus is in use a target is placed upon the ground and. a driving mat also placed upon the ground any distance desired from the mat. In a yard the target will be a relatively short distance from the driving mat, such as twenty-two paces, and in a field the distance i will be increased and may be approximately the usual distance between the driving tee and the green of a golf course. If two targets and driving mats are being used the targets are placed at opposite ends of the playing field and the driving mats each rests upon the ground opposite its companion target. The targets may b disposed upright in triangular form or they may be placed flat upon the ground in circular form. Targets placed upright project upwardly from the ground and may be more clearly seen and this is advantageous if the targets are a long distance from the driving mats. Each player uses three balls, the balls used by one player being white and the other balls being of a contrasting color such as red, yellow, or any other distinctive color.

The first player places a ball upon the tee of' his mat and then stands in a natural position at a side of the mat and hits the ball with a golf club to drive the ball from the tee towards his target. Since the tee is formed of flexible material it will be flexed forwardly and downwardly into the opening in the board when the club head drives through as it strikes the ball and then returns to its upright position. The formation of the flexible tee allows it to firmly support either a regulation golf ball or a featherweight Pee Gee Bee practice ball which is hollow and formed of Celluloid or other suitable light weight material. After the first ball strikes the ground and comes to a stop the other'two balls are driven from the driving mat towards the target. The fact that the tee is mounted at the inner or rear end of the reduced forward portion of the board allows the club head to swing freely through its natural path barely touching the reduced forward portion or platform of the board and carrying through to a full power follow through without damage to the mat or the head of the club. The driving mat is therefore of such formation that a natural stance and stroke may be used, but a lawn will be protected from damage and also a polished floor if the game is played indoors. After the first player has driven his three balls towards the target the second player does likewise and a score is obtained by the closeness of the balls to the target. Since the target is formed of very thin strips the balls may easily roll across them when they are placed fiat upon the ground to form a circular target. When the strips are set upright to form a triangular target the balls may roll between legs of the target and come to a stop within the target. The light weight balls used when the target is spaced from the driving mat about 65 or 75 feet, are harmless to children, pets, flowers, or windows but are quite accurate if hit correctly. If hit incorrectly the balls will faithfully hook to the left, slice to the right, or bloop along the ground. They act exactly like a regular golf ball but do it in a shorter space. It takes a full powerful stroke to properly drive the light weight balls from the driving mat to the target and is wonderful practice.

Only one ball (the best ball) counts for score on each round. The ball nearest the target counts 1 if it is outside the target. If it lies within the circular target it counts 2, unless it is matched by the opponents ball. Then the next best ball counts for score. More experienced players may, at the start of a game, allow a handicap of an agreed number of points. The lowest number of balls which a player must drive from the tee in order to put eighteen balls within the target becomes his personal par and a person playing alone obtains good driving practice in trying to beat his previous par. When the target is set upright and forms a triangular target for play at a long distance from the driving mat and regular golf balls are used, the object of the game is to have the ball stop as near the target as possible and a ball within a clubs length of the target counts two, the same as when a ball stops rolling within the target when playing the shorter game with light weight balls and using a fiat circular target. When the game apparatus is not in use the mats, the targets and the balls are placed in a box to protect them and prevent them from becoming lost, and clubs may also be placed in the box if so desired.

Having thus described the invention, what is 7 of the strip within the opening and projecting upwardly above the board.

2. A driving mat for golf comprising a board formed with an opening, a strip extending longitudinally of said board and secured upon the upper surface thereof and having a portion passing across the opening below the upper surface of the board and offset downwardly in the opening, and a flexible ball support carried by the portion of-said strip within said opening extending upwardly out of the opening.

8. A driving mat for golf comprising a board having a forward portion reduced in thickness from its upper surface and defining a shoulder extending transversely of the board at the junction of thick and thin portions thereof, said board being provided with an opening formed through meeting thick and thin portions thereof, and a flexible ball-carrier mounted vertically in said opening and projecting upwardly from the opening.

4. A driving mat for golf comprising a board having a forward portion reduced in thickness from its upper surface and defining a shoulder extending transversely of the board at the junction of thick and thin portions thereof, said board being provided with an opening formed through meeting thick and thin portions thereof, a strip carried by said board "and passing across said opening below the upper surfaceof the thin portion of the board, and a ball-carrier within said opening carried by said strip and having flexible arms extending upwardly out of the opening, said arms having upper ends formed with notches in which portions of a ball rest.

5. A driving 'mat for golf comprising a board formed with an opening spaced rearwardly from a front end of the board, a stiff strip intermediate the width of said board having a portion passing across the opening below the upper surface of the board, and a ball-carrier mounted upon said strip within said opening and having flexible arms extending upwardly out of the opening, said arms being spaced from each other longitudinally of the strip and having upper ends formed with deep notches defining upstanding fingers between which portions of a golf ballengage when set at rest upon the arms.

6. The structure of claim 5 wherein the ball carrier arms consist of strips of flexible material disposed vertically and spaced from eachother, said vertical strips having lower portions form'ed with "horizontal feet secured upon the portion of the stiff strip within the opening.

7. Adriving mat for golf comprising a board formed with an opening, a strip upon the upper surface of said board having a portion offset downwardly and forming a saddle fitting into said opening, said saddle having tongues projecting therefrom and engaging the under face of the board and bracing the saddle against upward movement inthe opening, and a tee of flexible material carried by said saddle and projecting upwardly therefrom and out of the opening.

8. A driving mat for golf comprising a board formed with an opening spaced rearwardly from a front end of the board, a strip extending 1ongitudinally of said board and mounted upon the upper surface of the board, said strip constituting an aiming device and having a portion bent downwardly and constituting a substantiallyU- shaped saddle having a bridge portion, bisecting theopening and arms extending upwardlyfrom 8 ends of its bridge, tongues cut from said arms and extending from ends of the bridge and seated in recesses formed in the under face of the board, and a flexible tee carried by and extending upwardly from the bridge.

9. A game apparatus including a driving mat comprising a board having a flat bottom face and being reduced in thickness from its front end for a portion of its length and thereby providing a thin platform and an upstanding shoulder across the rear end of said platform, said board being formed midway its width with a large opening extending partially through the rear portion of the platform and partially through the thicker portion of the board, a metal strip countersunk in a recess formed longitudinally of the board in the bottom face thereof, said strip having a forward portion extending across the opening diametrically thereof, a cup-shaped tee formed of flexible elastic material and having a thick bottom resting upon the metal strip within the opening and an upstanding annular wall projecting above the board and reduced in thickness towards the upper end of the tee, and a fastener having ahead within the cup-shaped tee disposed against the bottom thereof and a stem passing downwardly from the head through the strip and needed at its lower end.

1 0. A driving mat for golf comprising a. fiat board reduced in thickness from the front end for a portion of its length and forming a thin platform, there being an opening through the board formed partially through the rear end portion of the platform and partially through the thicker portion of the board, a metal strip secured against the under face of said board longitudinally thereof and for a portion of its length ex tending across the said opening below the upper surface of the platform, and a tee mounted upon said strip within the opening and extending upwardly out of the opening and above the thicker portion of the board.

11. The structure of claim 10 wherein the tee is cup-shaped and appreciably smaller than the opening and has its bottom firmly secured upon the metal strip, said tee being formed of flexible elastic material'and having an annular wall extending upwardly out of the opening and above the thicker portion of the board adapted to be flexed transversely in the opening when the tee and a ball "placed upon the tee are struck with a golf club.

12. The structure of claim 10 wherein the tee is cup-shaped and has a fiat bottom firmly secured upon the strip, said'tee being formed of flexible elastic material and having an annular wall extending upwardly out of the opening and above the board and of a thickness adapting the upper end portion of the tee to be folded outwardly and downwardly about itself when not in use.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED-STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,510,302 Budrow Sept. 30, 1924 1,690,158 Currie Nov. 6, 1928 1,746,600 Merlo Feb. 11, 1930 1,923,682 Moorman Aug. '22, 1933 2,103,026 Van Valkenburg Dec. 21, 1937 2,123,195 Middleton July 12, 1938 2,626,150 Kams Jan. 20, 1953 

